I was out shopping with my daughter a few weeks ago when she pointed to a display rack of bras. They were bright and colorful. They were padded. They were in the little girl section of the store. I stood there in disbelief wonder why a 5, 6, even 8 or 9 year old would need a bra like this, especially a padded bra. Before I could say anything my daughter turned to me and excitedly asked for one.

Yet it is easy to get sucked in when you hear about what other parents are doing. It is easy to worry that you are putting your child at a disadvantage. But when thoughts like that invade my head I ask myself honestly, at a disadvantage for what? Winning another dust collecting trophy?

I finally let go when I realized I was not doing my children any favors by doing their work for them, even though deep down I feel as though I am judged when my children hand in less than perfect homework assignments.

One of the most difficult things I have found about being a mother surprised me. It wasn’t the sleepless nights or the tantrums. It wasn’t the whining or the endless bickering. It wasn’t even the fights about going to bed and then the same fights about getting up in the morning. No, the most difficult thing about being a mother has been letting them go.